The Daily Beauty: Investigating the Science behind Olay Regenerist

One of the things that beauty writers like to talk about – a lot – is how face creams from the big companies like P&G are always worth investigating, given their significant investment in research and development. Of course, we can talk about it, but it’s not often that we get a chance to get up close and personal with both the scientists and the technology being used by these companies: which is exactly what I got to do a few weeks back, when I met with Dr Frauke Neuser, Olay Principal Scientist, who took me through Olay’s latest developments.

Olay, already one of the world’s best-selling skin products (and, I discovered recently, Amazon UK’s best-selling beauty brand) has always been on my list for effective, affordable skin care, that’s at the forefront of skin research.

For the latest re-boot of OLAY Regenerist (which encompasses nine products in the Regenerist family, including OLAY Regenerist 3 Point Super Age-Defying Cream, OLAY Regenerist 3 Point Super Firming Serum and OLAY Regenerist Regenerating UV Cream SPF15), they have harnessed pioneering cellular bioenergetics research to tackle skin fatigue and the signs of ageing,

The starting point has been Olay’s application of cellular bioenergetics research to skincare. If you are going to develop an anti-ageing formula, then first you need to both measure and understand that process. That research, taking advantage of advances in cellular bioenergetics, and performed by Olay’s in-house scientific team, was able to measure and quantify energy levels in skin at all ages.

They were able to prove definitively for the first time that there is a sharp decline in the skin’s cellular energy as it ages. That research also discovered that skin becomes less responsive to anti-ageing ingredients because of these declines – a process Olay call Skin Fatigue.

One of the ways in which the Olay scientists have been able to draw their conclusions, has been by using this piece of cutting edge technology, a MultiPhoton Tomography machine:

It is at the forefront of skin research, and for one day only, it was shipped from Germany to London to show journalists how it worked. Essentially, it performs in vivo biopsies; in layman’s terms this means that instead of taking samples and analysing them ex the body, its laser technology allows the skin to be analysed in a living subject, giving detailed information on living cells and tissue structure within their physiological environment.

It’s a massive breakthrough, and its applications range from in situ diagnosis of malignant melanoma, and wound healing studies, as well as cosmetic and pharmaceutical research. But, where Olay is concerned, the major application is that for the first time the efficiency of anti-ageing products can be tested in vivo.

It was quite disconcerting to see the layers of my skin unfold, as the lasers tracked into the skin on my arm.

Here’s the breakdown of those layers:

Apparently these tightly packed cells mean that my skin is good condition for its age – (the ratio of elastin to collagen).

So, the net result of Olay’s research has been to develop a complex of ingredients to tackle the issue of Skin Fatigue, and thus tackle the appearance of ageing. So the new Regenerist products are designed to improve the skin’s responsiveness to anti-ageing skin care, and fight the look of Skin Fatigue by accelerating surface layer cell turnover, decreasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

They’ve optimised the levels of the existing active ingredients: Niacinamide and Pal-KTTKS – an Amino-Peptide Complex that’s also known as the super anti-ageing ingredient, Matrixyl™. Matrixyl™ has been proven to boost collagen levels in the skin and is the key penta-peptide in Olay Regenerist.

To aid penetration of these key actives even further into the skin’s surface layers, Olay has added a derivative of Olive Oil (OliveM) to help the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and to the new Super Firming Serum and Age-Defying Cream added Lys’lastine V – an extract of dill seeds which, in a clinical study, has been shown to help the skin’s elasticity.

New Olay Regenerist with new Skin Energising Technology is now available nationwide.

Back in London after a week in #Austria surrounded by these astonishing snow capped mountains and beautiful Lake Altausee. And, thanks to @vivamayr , I'm 3lbs lighter and feeling great. #vivamayr #mayrcure

I bought an entire box of Scilly Isles Narcissi for my Easter decorations at Covent Garden Flower Market yesterday and now my house smells divine

Picking out beautiful pink tulips for Easter at the flower market this morning #newcoventgarden

Sasha & Posetta Baddog

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